Declarations of Wars

Ben sighed as he removed his mask after returning to his apartment. He looked around and sat down on the couch. Batman was correct with what he said, he needed rest. The whirlwind that was the past few hours had drained him both physically, emotionally, and mentally. From finding out Gwen was still alive, to facing an enemy who was too skilled for him to take down himself.

He took up the Dark Knight's suggestion to rest and let him handle things for the time being. The pale teen knew after fighting Cwifer that he was out of his league with this, and needed the help. Plus he was reassured that Batman wasn't against him seeing this through.

Kevin groaned as he sat down on the opposite end to Ben, not even bothering to remove his mask.

"God… I really wished I was able to go to that strip joint." he grumbled in disappointment.

"Chill, ya horny rabbit." Harley said as she joined the other two, sitting in between them. "You're still a kid, so you aren't allowed, Especially with Bats around."

"Ah, bite me." the half Osmosian said in annoyance.

The blonde simply shrugged and leaned into the couch.

"Later. I just want to relax a little." she responded as she began to think. "Hey, what should we do in the meantime?"

"I'm going to try to follow Batman's suggestion and rest. I'm not back at full strength, I just awoke from a coma not long ago after all." Linker said.

"And how did you get out so quickly anyway? Usually you need to do rehabilitation for someone recovering from back issues like you did." Harley added. "They don't believe in juju or anything like that."

"Doctors gave me a physical and found that I was perfectly normal as far as they knew. They want to take x-rays of me just to make sure I am free of any damage. Besides, I can't just flat out say I used an alien form to fix myself. The damage was translated differently due to the Methanosian physiology, but with the type of damage I had inflicted, it was fixable. Besides, if I died, the Omnitrix would have kicked in its failsafe."

"Woah, what's this about a failsafe?" Ben asked, surprised to hear that.

"It's to ensure the user doesn't perish while in an alien form." the former Galvan said calmly. "It you were like Chromastone and were beaten into countless pieces by Vilgax, the Omnitrix would create a new body using a form physically similar to the one you croaked in, then resuscitate you. Sometimes, it'd be a hybrid of sorts based on the circumstances. In Chromastone's case, that would be Diamondhead."

"So, I'm immortal?" the pale boy asked.

"Oh, far from it. You can still perish if the Omnitrix is deactivated or destroyed. Same if you are like disintegrated to the point where even your atoms are destroyed." Ewte said as she removed her mask, revealing a serious look on her face. "You're just harder to keep down for the count."

Ben nodded before he closed his eyes to think.

"I can sense how you feel Ben." the female Caudatian said with a frown. "If you plan to take on Kai head on, that's suicide. Especially since we now know Cwifer, a Caudatian Vanguard, is with her."

"I know, but it's something else. If you're a Caudatian too, why do you look so different?" Ben asked. "Why do you help us when it means you're against your own?"

"You know how dangerous Cwifer is. You heard his words. I don't see things the same way. That's why. As for my appearance, Nexia were made with this appearance."

"Wait, made?" Harley asked. "So you aren't supposed to look like that?"

Ewte simply nodded, not saying anything else. Linker was the one who spoke up to further elaborate.

"Caudatians have various subspecies. Each with various abilities that rival or surpass many of the Omnitrix forms you like to use." Linker explained. "It is their lust for battle that gave rise to all of these."

"What do they have counterparts to, Omnitrix wise?" Kevin asked.

"Furia is Four Arms, XLR8 is the Rapere, Intella for Grey Matter, Garde for Cannonbolt, Pinna for Stinkfly, Gelda for Ghostfreak, and Sorbere counters energy wielding entities, like Feedback."

"Feedback?" Ben asked before his face soured a little.

"I see." Linker said upon realizing why he reacted that way. "You lost that form, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Ben admitted. "Lost him to Malware."

Linker nodded before sighing. "That is a minor hindrance, but that will change nothing."

The younger Omnitrix wielder blinked in confusion, but decided to not press on the matter.

"Anyway, anyone up for charades?" Harley asked, wanting to break the increasingly dreary atmosphere. She wanted to get involved as well, but she knew all to well that when the Batman was wanting to do things alone, he meant it. All she could do at this time was bide her time, and be ready to rescue Ivy when the time came.

Loud, provocative music was playing as the Dark Knight entered the back of the Fifties styled diner, entering a different establishment completely. Like the diner, the place was kept in great condition, with the walls covered in red velvet, held up by gold buttons, giving a regal vibe to the place. Customers, mostly male, were gathered around a catwalk with a pole sticking from the center of a circular stage at the end of the catwalk, oblivious to who just entered, their attention focused on the scantily clad dancer who was walking towards the pole, taking off her top in the process. The lighting was dimmed, yet spotlights were moving around, emitting light of various colors that stood out against the blackened stage. The darkness helped the vigilante blend into the shadows better, but he'd be noticed by someone who took the time to look.

Batman kept a straight face, ignoring the place as he glanced around, trying to find an employee, or preferably management or the owner. Someone who can give him the info he wanted. He would have went to a place like this in a disguise like Matches Malone, but he needed information immediately. He knew that Harley and Ben wouldn't stand around for long, and it was better for him to allow him to help than do it alone, as the pair would most likely interfere otherwise with their own rescue attempt.

"Well, it was about time you came here. Welcome to the Hidden Royal. I'm Isabella Torquemada, the owner of the place." Isabella, wearing only a black micro bikini to show off her body and just covering what was necessary, said humbly but went straight to the point. "What are you here for exactly? Information about someone?"

The Dark Knight looked at her in the eyes, not distracted by the woman's attire.

"I want to know more about what happened in the diner that is in front of this place." he said in a calm, firm tone. Isabella's eyes widened upon hearing that, obviously unaware of what happened.

"Oh god, are the girls okay?" she asked immediately, concern in her voice.

"Explain." Batman said firmly.

"Let's go to my office, we can't talk out here." the owner said as she calmed down.

With that, she led the Dark Knight to her office, the crowd still completely oblivious to what just transpired. Isabella opened the door, entering first with the vigilante behind. Once both were in, the door was closed and locked and turning the lights on. The office itself was covered head to toe with ledgers and paperwork, offering little walking space. Looking around, Batman made a mental note about the place.

"It is tough running two legitimate businesses at the same time here, but my brother, Wes, and myself are managing." Isabella stated, mainly to establish that she wasn't doing anything wrong. "Still, I do hear things about the underground a fair bit."

"Tell me about these girls you've mentioned a moment ago." Batman questioned. He could tell that Isabella had no intention to play hardball with him.

" First off we have Katherine Argente, seventeen. She is my brother's adopted child. Quite a troublemaker as well." Isabella said with a sigh before sitting down into her seat. "Before I continue further, I must talk about myself. You see, I was once a hitman hired by various governments overseas as an independent hire, I retired after my last job. I was in the field for only five years, so I don't have an extensive repertoire compared to others like Deadshot for example. And I was pardoned for this by our government, secretly and on the condition I act as an informant for the CIA and FBI when needed.

"On my final job, the person I was to eliminate was a drug lord. I can't go into details due to a nondisclosure agreement that would be seen as treason if broken, but when the job was done, I discovered there was a little girl who was just coming home from school. Mien gott, things went fubar quicker than I expected. One of my rules was to never go after those with families. Turns out that either the target kept her secret, or I was lied to. Knowing what I did, I was really shaken up, knowing I've just ruined a kid's life."

Isabella paused to pull our a bottle of brandy from a drawer of the desk and took a sip from it after opening the cap.

"That man's daughter is Katherine Argente." Batman deduced out loud, seeing Isabella nod solemnly.

"Not her. Still, it's quite a paradox here. A murderer regretting a specific kill after taking many others without flinching. I can't explain for the life of me, but just knowing what will happen to that girl was enough for me to call it quits. Kitty is practically an orphan who had no father in her life. Poor girl got raped at a young age, and her mother was killed in the process. She was homeless for a year before my brother took her in. Still, she is traumatized in an odd way. She is a bit of a psychopath at times when the person is similar to her rapist. She even becomes emotionally distant whenever she brings up that incident, as if it happened to someone else actually. Knowing how Gotham is, I trained Katherine just enough to be able to defend herself from that outcome again, but at times I regret that choice."

"I see, any problems with the law?" Batman asked, trying to profile the kid's behavior.

"Nothing on record with GCPD. That girl is very smart with things. She picked up things that I never taught her… At the rate she's going, she'll be either six feet under or in Arkham. She's following in my footsteps, even though I try to constantly persuade her to give up. I fear it's too late for her." Taking a deep swig from the bottle, Isabella sat the bottle down and ran her fingers through her hair, looking like she is approaching the end of her wits.

The Dark Knight processed what he learned before he decided to press her further. It didn't seem like she was lying at all, but at the same time, she didn't say the whole truth. Knowing how she was thinking, and what he knew, he proceeded onwards with his interrogation.

"What is her MO?" he asked, his voice becoming stern. "Don't try to hide anything from me."

The redhead nodded before she took a moment to collect her thoughts and regain composure.

"Alright. Luckily, Kitty isn't a wanton murderer who doesn't feel any empathy. She is targeting only those who are involved with child prostitution, and have beaten the system. Therefore they are untouchable, and aren't afraid of what you do. I don't try to stop this, as I am afraid I could trigger her to do something drastic should that happen."

"What you're doing is wrong." Batman said firmly.

"I'm not her mother in her eyes. She only sees me as only a friend." Isabella said, giving a weak defense that was easily broken by the vigilante's scowl. "I won't defend Kitty's actions, nor deny I am in the wrong about that. Anyway, we have two girls I need to talk about. Katherine is just the first."

Batman fell silent as he stood in place, looking at Isabella sternly as she continued.

"The other girl we found only two years ago. We have no idea who her real identity is or anything, but I think she might be a metahuman or alien. Her hair is rose pink, and it is natural, not dyed surprisingly. She seems to have this ability to use this magenta energy that can actually be solid or not. We call her Pixie, and the poor girl has amnesia. She can't remember too much about herself. She also has been one of the few people that actually befriended Kitty. There's not much to say than that except that she's been doing a great job helping cover Kitty's hits."

Batman kept quiet at he processed the information he was given.

"Is Katherine someone who starts fights? And how does she behave around Pixie?" he questioned.

"No, Kitty's very friendly and playful, and doesn't become violent when it is anyone but her target."

The redheaded woman answered. "In fact, despite helping out, ever since Pixie entered her life, Katherine has actually been becoming less active as a hitman."

"Interesting." Batman said, finding that info important. "Have they made any enemies?"

"No, they always target those who are low profile compared to those like the Penguin or Joker. And before you ask, Kitty does this on her own choice, never for a contract. She despises people like them."

Isabella stated before closing her eyes. "I know I am not in any position to ask you this. But if you ever encounter Katherine, please try to help her. Pixie showed that there might still be a chance to reach her and get her to stop."

"I'll do what I can." Batman said calmly, his voice laced with understanding of Isabella's plea.

When the redhead opened her eyes, she was all alone in the office, with no trace of the Batman left.

"I knew this day would happen, Kitty. I just hope he can help you better than I did." she said to no one in particular. "Him, or someone else."

Kai sighed as she leaned against a wall of an abandon building as she saw Cwifer come into view.

"You needed me?" Kai asked with a frown. "I thought you didn't trust me."

"I need to ask you something. Is there a reason why you picked this dimension in particular?" the Rapere Vanguard asked.

"I need to keep you battle junkie newts entertained first off, but it's also because I want that Omnitrix of Tennyson's a bit later." Kai explained. "Using Millennia, my Chronian form, I saw that this boy will obtain something that I want in the near future. A technology that can potentially rival a Celestialsapien's powers."

"So that's why you explicitly said to leave those of Wild Card alive." Cwifer said in understanding. "Fine, but if you keep me from any promising fights, remember what I said." He then had a scythe raised and held up to Kai's neck. "I will not hesitate to fight you." he lowered the blade and replaced it against his forearm. "Also, we need to talk about Aniki and Remus. Those two are itching to fight to the point they are actually close to disobeying. Remus actually has decided to match wits with the Riddler."

Kai's face soured upon hearing that.

"I see." she said, not pressing for details. "And what about Aniki?"

"He's listening, for now." the Rapere Vanguard said. "And then we have a certain comrade of ours who have the most ambitious drive of my race. He is going after Ra's Al Ghoul and is even aiming bigger. He wants to start with the Iceberg Lounge."

Kai's eyes widened in horror upon hearing this.

"No. Not him, anyone but him…" she said in horror and frustration. Of the Caudatians she had with her, there was one with ambitions that are impossible to curb even the slightest. The Vanguard of the Sorbere subspecies. Thelifeeater, who adopted his entire title as his name after what he considered it the most ominous that fitted him. Kai immediately turned her back to Cwifer and began walking off.

"Contact Aniki, Remus and Tetrax and tell them to scramble and approach Nigma. Then talk with Bane, he has experience with Ra's. We need to act fast. The last thing we need is that crusty psycho on our asses."

The Caudatian growled but obliged, running off in a blur. He understood how much trouble the situation would be if they were ambushed by the League of Assassins, especially when they were still preparing. Even if he'd get a thrill from such conflict, he knew they were a serious threat right now.

Kai at the same time was troubled by the development herself. She was being careful to have her plans proceed accordingly, but she didn't expect the most uncontrollable to do something that was reckless. Then again, Caudatians happily take such risks if it triggered a big fight. But even then, in this situation, it was just plain reckless.

The Iceberg Lounge was one of the go to places for socialites and other people who had more money than they needed. Considering the place is owned by Oswald Cobblepot, better known as the Penguin, most guests either were affiliated with him someway or didn't care of the underworld connections he had.

Normally, the extravagant place had a form of civility to it unless an unexpected guest dropped in, but things were different this evening. Decapitated corpses of staff and male guests were strewn about, left in the wake of an inhuman being.

A bipedal being of around seven feet tall stood in the center of the carnage he has made. His physique was humanoid aside from a few traits. For starters, he stood tiptoe on three toed feet with white claws spread out like a dinosaur's and a slender, prehensile tail that ended with a spike. He had two pairs of arms, one pair coming from above the other. The lower pair were scythe arms similar to the Rapere's however, the arms were a bit thicker, the blades half the size, and were folded at his sides the blades pointed downwards. His upper arms were much more developed than the Rapere's secondary arms. The secondary pair were similar to a human's pair in shape and appearance, but with three fingered hands with the fingers and thumb positioned in a way that is suited more for clasping with a small thin palm compared to a humans.

The being's head was shaped like a salamander's on a neck, with a small row of bony red spikes coming from the top of his head and going down the back of his spine, the spikes were longer around the middle of the spine and were standing perfectly straight, giving the allusion of a sail like that of the Dimetrodon. He had slate gray skin that looked more leathery and had brilliant blue eyes.

This is the Caudatian Sorbere Vanguard, his title The Lifeeater.

A few of the members of Security surrounded the man, armed with guns and tasers. Thelifeeater stayed calm as he examined every man who was against him.

"Stand down, and we'll let you kill you quick." one of the men declared.

"You think you can beat me?" he asked in a deep, suave tone before his tail darted forward, the spike impaling the man in the head, killing him before he realized what happened. The Vanguard hastily pulled the body to him, using it as a shield to block the gunfire from the others. He waited until he heard clicking from the now empty guns.

"Shit! I'm out!" When one of the guards said that. The Caudatian saw an opening and took it. He crossed his upper arms across his chest as the lower ones extended, revealing curved blades suited for decapitating opposed to the Rapere's, when were more straight for slicing.

Thelifeeater closed in and swiftly severed three heads in a professional manner. Each movement maximized for the greatest efficiency. Out of the six guards remaining, four were slain quickly. His movements were nowhere near as fast compared to the Rapere, but he was faster than the humans.

The Caudatian Vanguard brought up the scythes to his mouth, which parted to allow a prehensile frog like tongue to slip out to lick the blood off the bony blades. The sight of this unnerved the last two, enough to make them toss their tasers and fled. Shaking his head while chuckling in amusement, he picked up the tasers and pointed them towards himself.

Without hesitation, he pulled the triggers, causing the darts to anchor themselves into his flesh and be electrocuted by both of them. Normally, a taser would immediately immobilize a human and make him convulse involuntarily as long as the current was going through the body. However, they had no such effect on him. Instead, sparks arced between the spikes of his back, and the Sorbere felt nothing. He let go and ripped the darts out of his skin, not caring about the wounds they left behind as he followed the others in pursuit. Thelifeeater raised his scythe arms, which were now sparking from the electricity that he absorbed.

Closing in on one of the guards, he sunk the tips of the scythes into his shoulders, discharging the electricity to induce a taser effect on the man. While he was convulsing, the Sorbere grabbed the man's head and ripped it off with little effort, the skin tearing with sickening, wet noise. Thelifeeater then opened his mouth, revealing a row of piercing canines that unfolded from the roof of his mouth. He then bit down on the head, the fangs puncturing the skull like it wasn't there. He repeated the process several more times before tossing the head over his shoulder like it was garbage, having leave a splatter mark of blood and brains upon impact.

The sole survivor, who watched the sight unfold was on the ground, a look of absolute horror on his face as fear paralyzed any cogitative thought or movement. The Sorbere turned to the man, his scythes still sparking as he still held a charge.

"P-please… spare me." the man whimpered just as the Lifeeater knelt beside him, his bladder letting go and wetting his own pants. He closed his mouth, his fangs returning to their prior position.

" I have enough survivors already." he said casually before grabbing the man's head in twisting it in a full circle, killing him instantly. Letting the body slump to the ground. Thelifeeater rose up and surveyed his kills. "I'm getting a little sloppy. Fucking bitch telling me to lay low when I can cause as much carnage as possible. Does she know who the hell I am?"

"I see you made short work of my men." a man's voice said from behind the alien. "So, what brings you to kill every person that was here?" Oswald Cobblepot stood alone, with an umbrella in his hands with a furious look on his face.

"Oswald Cobblepot. Better known as the Penguin." the Lifeeater said as he slowly walked towards the man. "One of the leaders involved with the wars over control of Gotham's underground. At least until Kai and Tetrax got involved."

"Allow me to repeat myself. Why are you here?" the Penguin asked.

"To make some noise to get your attention." the Sorbere said. "And relax, I only killed the men. The females were allowed to flee."n

"Well, you've got it. What do you need?" Cobblepot asked.

The Vanguard chuckled before he ran forward. The Penguin raised his umbrella and opened it, all the while pulling a hidden trigger to fire off the gun that was built in.

Thelifeeater dodged to the side, but a bullet got his upper right arm in the process. He closed the distance and slammed the sides of his scythes against the umbrella, which acted as a shield due to the metal hidden behind the umbrella's fabric. However, just as a bullet penetrated the alien's side, he discharged the rest of the electricity he had absorbed, the umbrella's metal components conducting the charge, disarming the Penguin and making him collapse to the ground.

"I need to make a louder message for everyone to hear." thelifeeater said while stepping onto Cobblepot's head, pinning him in place. "And I need you to be the messenger. That is what I need from you. You aren't worth killing right now, so be grateful you are being spared, human." With that, he delivered a kick to the Penguin's head, knocking him out.

Edward Nigma frowned as he examined a note, trying to decipher the message it contained. He recently escaped from Arkham a week ago, and was intending to gather what resources he could manage at the time to formulate a new plan to match wits with the Batman. However, all his plans were brought to a halt by the mysterious message that was over five pages full.

"This has been turning out to be more challenging than I predicted. Just when I thought I cracked it, I notice something that shows there's another riddle to solve. To think this code is covered in so many layers." the Riddler said while going to a blackboard to jot down the latest layer he uncovered. "From binary to Alchemic terms to Roman myths to counting the letters of the scientific names of various amphibians amongst ten other layers. Whoever created this really is quite an intellectual. But I think I finally got it solved."

He then laughed when he finally figured out the final message.

"Congratulations on solving this. You have proven you are a potential adversary to me. I am Remus, an alien that can best be described as a salamander of Earth. Now, you may be wondering why I sent you this message. It is because I am declaring war on you. Now, here's another riddle, one that your life depends on solving within three days: I am crystal, yet I breathe. I am a god, but also an intelligent beast. Machines are gifted by my powers, which are artificial themselves. I am also a plant yet even fire and ice born tamed by me. I can be a ghost, and a dinosaur gifted with speech. Who am I? Ask for my help. "

Nigma raised an eyebrow as he reread the riddle. He immediately assumed some deity, then some hero, but he couldn't figure out what the definitive answer was.

"This is just absolute ludicrous. How can all of this be connected? I don't think this is even remotely logical."

"I beg to differ, Nigma." a voice with a tone that was akin to an intellectual man said.

A humanoid Caudatian came out of the shadows. His physique was similar to a human, but resting against his back were a pair of unusual bony scythes that had a short curve but also each one had protruding point on the top of the blades. His arms had hands that were with three fingers and an opposable thumb. Like the Lifeeater, his head was like that of a salamander's on top of a neck with dark green eyes that were smaller and more towards the front. He had rust colored skin with a cream torso and throat. His tail however, was stubby and impractical. His feet were flat and had three toes with webbing between each toe while they ended in a claw.

"Hmm… I assume you are Remus, correct?" Nigma questioned. "I am honestly impressed with your choice of layered cipher. It took me a while to unravel."

"Oh, that? That was something random I came up with. I can make it even more complicated than that." Remus said with a chuckle. "Still, I have been watching the whole time. To think there are people like yourself in this dimension. Now, allow me to introduce myself. As you've assumed, I am indeed Remus. I am the Caudatian Vanguard of the Intella subspecies." As he introduced himself, he gave a little bow.

"Caudatian. As in Caudata, the scientific order for salamanders." the Riddler deduced immediately. "That explains your choice of words for the explanation about yourself. Now, Riddle me this: Why are you declaring war on me?"

"Because it'd be entertaining, nothing more, nothing less." Remus said casually as what could be seen as a smirk appear on his lips. "We adopted the name Caudatians because it sounded fitting for us. Anyway, going back to my riddle. It isn't gibberish. That's the only hint I'll give you. "

"And why should I take you seriously?"

"Because, we will kill you." Remus said casually.

Nigma frowned before he turned around upon hearing a woman clearing her throat, coming face to face with Tetrax and Kai. The brown haired super villain noticed that his green bowler hat with a question mark on it. and a spare purple mask were being worn by the woman. Tetrax raised up an exposed hand as it morphed into a

"Riddle me this: How did you two get in here?" Nigma questioned, his face souring a bit. However, he screamed in pain upon feeling two needle like points stab into his back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Remus had changed his posture, slouching forward to allow his scythe arms to unfold and jab forward, revealing that the limbs stretch a bit so the points of the needles could reach the super villain.

Nigma's vision blurred before collapsing, slipping into unconsciousness.

"Get Aniki, we need to get going." Kai's voice was the last thing he heard before the darkness claimed him.

One Year Later

"Edward Nigma, alias the Riddler. He is the Jack of Spades. The guy really has quite a rap sheet, even bringing Gotham to its knees for about a year at one point in Bats' early days. However, he had amnesia at one point, and he acted as a private investigator during that time, temporarily reformed until he regained his memories." Ani said solemnly. "Victor Friese, aka Mr. Freeze. Three of Spades. After falling victim to a lab accident, he literally cannot thrive in the same environment as regular men, needing subzero temperatures to survive. He was driven by a desire to save his wife, Nora, who was cryogenically frozen because of an incurable disease. All attempts, including one that could have actually cured his wife, were thwarted by Batman. Seriously, do you want to deny anyone a happy ending or something?"

Batman's frown showed his displeasure from what the cloaked Time Soldier said. However, he allowed her to continue.

"As the Ace, Two, and Three of Diamonds, Wild Card also roped in Batgirl, Catwoman, and Attlee. We also got Power Girl as the King of Diamonds. Two of Clubs is good old Mr. Basil, aka Clayface." Ani said calmly as she smiled a little at seeing how Batman reacted to her. "We managed to even have Raven and Starfire as the Six and Five of Hearts. I swear is Ben after a harem or something with the Hearts team?"

"I think you're forgetting something." Superman said with a small smile.

"I know, Supergirl herself." the witch said with a shake of her head. "Queen of Hearts. Next to Power Girl and Attlee, she is definitely one of the few heroes who actually support Ben openly. And that is putting aside the fact those of Batman's rogues who worked with Wild Card actually support them as well, even if they haven't joined."

"A lot have joined. Enough villains and heroes to balance things out, I hope." Gordon commented.

"That's right. Normally such a lineup would become volatile at some point. But they are all tied together by a single fact. Ben had managed to befriend them and earn their trust." Ani said.

"I still say a few of them still need help at Arkham." Batman said bluntly, his displeasure becoming more noticeable in his voice. "But Ben does keep them in line."

"Those guys acknowledge Ben because of the fact he listened and helped them." Ani pointed out. " He reached out to those who you think are too dangerous and possible lost causes. Even as just a teen, he is more empathic than you, Batman." Ani said.

Batman remained silent, choosing to not respond.

"Anyway, all of these guys will be helping Ben out." the Time Soldier stated as she floated besides Superman.

"Understood, but why bring them all up?" Superman asked.

"We need everybody's help here. And I mean everybody." Ani said darkly. "The Joker has Ben's Omnitrix."

Present

The Joker growled as he searched through a box full of various weapons designed to look like gag weapons. He tossed out every weapon that Harley liked in anger before he pulled out one of her form fitting jump suit costumes. Seeing that only stoked his ire further, causing him to rip the costume to shreds.

"That child humping whore is going to pay for this!" he screamed before kicking the box with enough force to send it skidding across the floor a good distance away from him. "True, my heart belongs only to Batsy, but this crosses any lines in our relationship." The Clown Prince of Crime went open to another box, opening it for him to see the chemistry set within it.

"Of course. If she wanted to look like me so bad, I might as well give it too her. Let's see, the chemicals I fell in are no longer being made, so I think I need to improvise. Oh, I know! I can use that Joker Venom Version Laugh-Point-Oh! I used it on that boy a few years back. That annoying weed Ivy gave Harley immunity and resistance to all sorts of toxins, but with a little tinkering, I can make it work on her."

His rage receded as he spoke, an inhuman grin appeared on his face as he began to chuckle.

"Look out! Joker's coming for you and your little boy toy, Quinn!" he declared loudly before laughing maniacally. He carefully pulled out the Chemistry set, his mind already figuring out how to improve the experimental Joker Venom he used on Ben before.

Inside a greenhouse, Ivy sighed as she tended to an apparently malnourished bush. Saddened by the state it was in, she placed a hand on it and communicated with it, using her connection to the Green to do so to ask what was wrong. The plant responded wordlessly, telling her it was suffering from a sickness of some kind.

"Poor thing…" the redhead said softly, her already saddened mood only becoming worse. It was hard to tell what ailed the plant, especially since she didn't have any equipment to do a proper analysis. This was not one of the greenhouses she used normally. Kai brought her here to allow her to think comfortably about how to rescue Harley. The redhead already encountered the Caudatians, and was repulsed by them. She saw them as a worse blight than even humanity itself. They had no connection to nature at all, and they didn't care about it at all.

She knew that there were humans that genuinely cared about nature, which made humanity slightly better than the aliens. When she encountered the one called Aniki, he ripped a whole tree up from the ground and snapped it in half, just because he was bored. Ivy wouldn't be able to forgive him for that. While she didn't approve of humans cutting down the trees. She at least understood that it was done for a reason, albeit selfish and inconsiderate in her eyes.

She'd deal with the Caudatians later. For now, it was to focus on how she could separate Ben from her beloved Sweet Pea.

"Something wrong?" a young girl asked behind her, snapping the redhead back to her senses.

Turning around, she saw both Pixie and Katherine standing in place, the pink haired girl looking at her in concern.

"I'm just fine." Ivy said calmly as she gave a small smile. "I'm just thinking about some things."

Katherine remained quiet, trying to figure out what to say. The half-Japanese girl was wearing a red tube top with black jeans. Around her waist was two leather holsters for her handguns with leather boots.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Ivy questioned.

"I'm wearing this just for the occasion." Katherine answered with a sigh. "Anyway, I want to make sure that we all are on the same page here. Are you really going after a kid that's around Pix's age here?" That's kind of low if you ask me."

Ivy narrowed her eyes for a moment at the young hitman but remained calm.

"I don't intend to hurt him, but I need to remove him from my beloved Harley." she responded. "And do not think he is helpless. If anything, someone like him is one of the strongest people on Earth, possibly the strongest."

Katherine blinked for a moment before her interest got piqued.

"How strong are we talking here in what regard?" she asked.

"I feel even Superman himself would have a challenge with the boy." the red haired metahuman said as she smiled. "Though Kai said Pixie here has powers that can actually defeat him."

Pixie looked at her hand as a magenta glow emanated from it.

"Kai said I was born with this Annodite Spark. That I could do so much with it. But there are people that would go after me because of my powers. People that don't belong in this world." the reincarnation of Gwen said with a frown.

"Well, considering you can clean up the messes I make when I go after those pedophiles. You have to have powers of a god to do that kind of shit. Wonder your grandpa banged an actual goddess or something."

"Grandpa…" Pixie said, falling silent as she closed her eyes. Memories of an elderly man wearing a red Hawaiian tshirt with a seemingly run down RV called the Rust Bucket. He was caring, but had many secrets he didn't reveal except the situation demanded him to take action. He revealed that he was a semi-retired member of the Plumbers, and was the nemesis of Vilgax before her cousin took his place.

"Hey, are you okay?" Katherine asked, bringing her friend back to her senses.

"Yeah, I just had a thought just now." the pink haired girl said dismissively.

Katherine looked at Pixie but nodded, getting a feeling it was something she couldn't say out loud. Her thoughts went to the reason why the pair were with Ivy in the first place.

Kai wanted them to help her out defeating a shape shifter who actually murdered Pixie, who was originally a red haired girl named Stephanie Darwin. The shape shifter who killed her was pretending to be a hero, but in truth, was just waiting to kill someone with both powers and red hair, like Ivy. Basically, Kai wanted the pair to look after Ivy in case of an attack. Pixie went along with it, but it was obvious that it was all a lie. In order to keep up the charade, the pink haired girl was acting as the leader of the two.

Katherine had been wondering who it was that Ivy wanted to separate her lover away from. His name was never mentioned, but all she knew was that he was a child with superpowers of some kind. However, at Pixie's request, she has been holding her tongue, not wanting to bring up any suspicion at this time.

She didn't want to risk provoking metahumans and an alien race that is on par with her.

For now, it was just to wait and see what happens next.

Ben frowned as he fiddled with his Omnitrix, cycling through his roster. He was bored at the moment, with nothing better to do. He would've went out to patrol the surrounding area as XLR8, but Linker adamantly refused to let him do that. With Cwifer running around, he couldn't be careless, and so he had to keep a low profile.

Linker and Ewte were in the genius's room, repairing Ben's goggles and doing some other things behind the locked door. What it was, the boy had no idea. Kevin was in his room asleep. Harley, however, was looking over the boy's shoulder, saying the names of each form that appeared out loud.

"Can I pick a form to see how it looks?" the jester asked at one point.

Ben simply shrugged and held his left arm up, allowing her to select the form.

"Oooh, new guy!" she said before slapping her right hand over the core, triggering the transformation.

Before Ben could say a word, he was engulfed in a flash of light.

"Hey! I thought you wanted to just look, not transform me!" the transformed Ben said in protest, in a cute, high pitched voice similar to if one inhaled some helium then spoke.

Harley was dumbfounded as she picked up the alien in both hands. It was shaped like a white rice ball with rabbit features. It lacked any real head, with the face positioned in the middle of his body, just like a certain pink creampuff who copied abilities by eating his foes. His arms were stubby and had had three fingers to make it look like nub shaped paws. He had slender feet with no legs to them, the feet ending with three toes that were together. Protruding from the top of his head were long rabbit ears that flopped over forwards at the top. His eyes were beady, a solid black, as he lacked any nose with only a mouth. The Omnitrix was positioned at the belly area, below the mouth.

The basketball sized alien was flailing helplessly in Harley's clutches, albeit in an endearing way.

"You are so cute as that guy! You look just like a bunny pillow. And you're soft too!" the jester said before hugging the boy, squishing him in the process in her arms. Harley then gasped when she felt vibrations going through her body. The way they felt was not violent at all, but more like those from a high end massaging chair. Her arms immediately felt like putty before she reluctantly set Ben down on the couch.

The rabbit like puffball was trembling in anger, his body compressed like memory foam for a moment before he regained his original shape. The transformed Ben's ears rose up straight completely as he glared at her.

"Seriously, This guy is the worst thing ever." he muttered in annoyance.

"No, his name is Best Thing Ever!" Harley declared before she sat down and picked the little rabbit up. She then laid down on the couch on her stomach while carefully placing Ben on top of her back. "Could you do that vibrating thing again on the middle of my back?"

Best Thing Ever sighed and waddled to where she asked. He closed his eyes and focused. His body began to shake vigorously, vibrating himself to the jester's pleasure.

"Oh… god… Yes…!" she said with every word trailing off, her body immediately relaxing as the vibrations eased up all her tense muscles. She eventually just let her body fall limp, embracing the vibrations completely in pure bliss.

When the puffball stopped, he realized Harley was fast asleep, her face showing she was at peace. The alien climbed off of Harley slowly but was caught by the jester, who held onto him like a pillow. She refused to let go, even to his protests, even when he timed out. Sighing, Ben relented and closed his own eyes.

"Best Thing Ever." he grumbled, finding the form to be useful in just one way, but only with making Harley relax. He didn't see why the blonde enjoyed it so much. When he held her, he attempted to break free with all his might, but failed.

Kevin woke up some time later, and emerged from his room to get a drink of water. When he saw the slumbering Ben, he simply shook his head and smiled.

"Lucky." he said under his breath while smirking. He had more ammo to get back at Ben for what he did as Big Chill, but at the same time was a little jealous.

When Ben awoke, his morning was a living hell.

Form Name: Best Thing Ever

Race: Chibisagi

Homeworld: Micomacro 44

Bio: The Chibisagi are a nonviolent race, not by choice, but by evolution. The herbivorous race evolved in a world as a species without any predators. Belying their cute appearance is an indomitable race that can survive anything. From exposure to inhumane levels of heat, to being submerged in sulfuric acid, to being crushed by a Toku'star's foot at full force. While a multicell organism, they are impervious to any physical abuse, but pain does appear, albeit significantly dulled compared to other races. The only thing that they succumb to is old age and disease. However, in exchange to their near immortality, they are practically helpless. They literally are so weak, they can not tear out of a plastic trash bag from Earth.

The Chibisagi are not very advanced, but are sentient. Their exposure to space society was due to interactions with explorers. Due to their physical limitations, most of the race was abducted and sold as pets. However, the Plumbers were eventually able to help out and grant the Chibisagi status as an acknowledged sentient race. But the struggle was far from over. With their shortcomings, they greatly struggled to find a place amongst the galactic community. While some found success as mascots for various products, most eventually turned to massage therapy of all fields. It was found out that the vibrations Chibisagi made with their bodies were ideal for helping people out with tense muscles and anything else that was suited for vibration based massage. With that, they finally found their place.

Personality: Chibisagi are naturally curious and friendly, and lack any fear. Otherwise, their mindset and emotions are like that of a human's. They are normally nonviolent, but can be angered. Some Chibisagi even take advantage of their inherent cuteness for ill gain. Their invulnerability makes some headstrong, even reckless with some dangerous things. A few of the males lavish the attention they get from the females of various races that find them adorable. Females are more self-conscious.

Abilities: They are practically invulnerable due to their bodies being devoid of bones as the body composition being similar to a single celled organism, despite being multicellular. Due to this, they are capable of instantaneous recovery, and able to survive harsh extremes.

They also have the ability to vibrate, usually when angered. This serves no practical function for survival in nature, but combined with their boneless body structure, this otherwise useless trait became the defining ability of securing employment in the massage therapy field, amongst a few other areas of employment that will not be mentioned.

Aside from these, Chibisagi lack any physical traits that poses a threat to others.

Stats.

Strength: 1

Speed: 1

Intelligence: 4

Endurance: 10

Combat Skill: 0

Weakness: poor strength and inability to run. Cuteness can be a hindrance at times too.

Race: Caudatian Intella

The subspecies that is closest to the original strain genetically. They came to be when a mutation occurred that granted the affected Caudatian greater intellect. Their intellect is comparatively greatly inferior to the Galvans, but they are able to be at odds with them. Physically, the Intella are on par with a human, but their intellect is their greatest asset. They were able to create most of the subspecies that exist today, and through genetic manipulation, they engineered themselves to be more suited for combat.

Originally, the Styrtans, the original race that is now extinct, were similar to the Incursion race in physique and a few other areas and less intelligent overall, but one mutation changed the race for good. After encountering Tetramands, the Intella first started by giving their race four arms, followed by the scythes to become weapons. As the original subspecies that was created, Rapere have secondary arms that are not as developed compared to others, a trait that didn't hinder what they were designed for.

The scythe arms they have are more primitive than even the secondary arms of the Rapere. They rest behind the back, like they were wings. This became the template for several subspecies, including the Furia. Opposed to most other subspecies. The Intella's scythe arms can stretch out a bit, allowing their unusual scythes to cut or pierce their target with the protruding tips to deliver a nonfatal poison that temporally immobilizes the target and knocks them out.

Intella are scientifically curious, and want to constantly improve their race in various ways. They have no morals about experimenting on other sentient races, including their own family members. They are also more civil in comparison, although they still have the species' shared love for combat. However, due to their intellect, they prefer matches of logic and problem solving then just straightforward brute force.

Overall, in terms of brute strength, Intella are one of the weaker subspecies, but they still outmatch a human easily.

Stats.

Strength: 4

Speed: 3

Intelligence: 8

Endurance: 6

Combat Skill: 7

Weakness: Fire, heat. Easy to become overpowered by someone with superhuman strength.

Name: Remus

Species: Caudatian Intella

Bio: A prodigy amongst even his own kind, Remus managed to obtain the Vanguard position at a young age. He acts as the main strategist of the Caudatian army in large scale battles. Unlike other Intella, Remus is more calculating with his approaches to situations. He wants to ensure to have the greatest advantages possible in a fight. He is also quite adept to act as an assassin, challenging himself to take out a target without being discovered.

He follows Kai not out of her showing dominance in force, but more out of curiosity of how far Caudatians could go with a human leading them. However, he will act on his own if he either disagrees with Kai's choices or just grows bored. Remus adopted his name after learning about the story about the founding of Rome, adopting the name of the founder's brother. He doesn't see Ben 10 as a real threat, unless he is in a form that has great intellect, like Grey Matter or Brainstorm. He has actually driven an Evil Ben called Master Ben from his old reality that he conquered before the Caudatians showed up.

With his intellect, Remus has grown to enjoy conflicts of mental challenge, sometimes allowing himself to be caught just so he can figure out an escape plan. He does this frequently, mainly to keep his wits sharp. In actual combat, Remus is more adept than one would think with great intellect. He isn't afraid to fight on the front lines on occasion, mainly to ensure his strategy is done correctly. He prefers debilitating his foe gradually, either from sneak attacks or focusing on his foe's weak points.

Stats.

Strength: 4

Speed: 3

Intelligence: 9

Endurance: 6

Combat Skill: 8

Threat Level: 8

Caudatian Sorbere

During their time traveling across their original reality's cosmos, the Caudatians encountered both Annodites and Conductoids. They were easily overpowered by them both, mainly due to the abilities of these two races. Faced with foes they simply could not outmatch physically, by strength or speed, the Intella began working on incorporating the abilities of the Conductoids themselves to improve the race.

This gave birth to the Sorbere line, which is able to absorb any kind of energy like the Conductoids without consequence. With this breakthrough, the two races were quickly overwhelmed, especially the Annodites. From there, the Sorbere became the special forces of the Caudatian army, dedicated to deal with enemies like those they were created to face. Their ability to absorb energy also made them almost immune to the Time Rays of Chronosapiens, a race that would have decimated the Caudatians otherwise. In fact, the Time Rays caused those affected to become ageless, as they cannot discharge that kind of energy that lingers within their bodies. These individuals are called " Sorbere Infinity" collectively. Despite never aging, they still can be killed like a regular Caudatian.

Originally, they were the most chaotic, with no discipline in place, and the weak were weeded out. However, after the Lifeeater became the Vanguard, everything changed and they became what is arguably the elites of the entire army.

Sorbere have unique scythe arms. They are capable of discharging most types of energy through them, a trait unique to this subspecies. They can also detach these scythe blades when charged with a lot of energy, able to utilize them as bombs. However, the scythes cannot regrow once lost. They can keep energy within their body for extended periods of time, but the more they have, the hotter they become. This can be fatal as high body temperatures causes their moisture to disappear from their skin. As such, they rarely carry excess energy when not needed.

The Sorbere, if they lost their scythes, are not helpless. They still are armed with their tail, which has a spike that is used to stab foes, but they don't have any venom. Unlike the scythes, if the spike breaks, it can be regrown. In fact, as they grow, they routinely shed these spikes for larger ones. This keeps going throughout their life, and the Sorbere Infinity actually have spikes so large, they can be used as effective bludgeoning weapons. They also have fangs that are normally folded back into their mouths but they can be used to discharge small amounts of energy.

Also, Sorbere that lost their scythes can wield arm mounted blades to replace them, or be fitted with weapons that utilize their abilities of discharging energy. Most prefer the latter as they are open to new ways of utilizing their abilities.

Stats.

Strength: 5

Speed: 3

Intelligence: 7

Endurance: 7

Combat Skill: 7

Weakness: Heat, Fire, high body temperature if too much energy is absorbed. Inability to absorb some types of energy.

Threat Level: 7

Full Name: Bob The Lifeeater but goes by Thelifeeater

Race: Caudatian Sorbere

Bio: At a young age, Caudatians usually are trained amongst themselves lethally for combat. But at that young age, the one known as the Lifeater was originally deemed as weak as a Nexia, and was ostracized for it. He was forced to learn how to fight on his own, until he came across an intergalactic bounty hunter. Pitying him, the bounty hunter took him under his wing and was given the name Bob. Being trained in a rigorous, strict manner, allowed the Sorbere to take advantage of his shortcomings, and became formidable. At the same time, he learned more about the culture of other races besides his own. This gave him insight to further refine himself. But by the time he reached adulthood, he had sought out to be trained by the best in various fighting styles. After that, he returned to the Caudatian's territory and challenged for the Vanguard position for Sorbere.

Originally, all the Caudatian races fought without discipline, using only prior experience to improve themselves. However, Thelifeeater proved that discipline went a long ways, allowing him to defeat the Vanguard and take over his position. He was christened the Life Eater as he drained the former Vanguard of his entire life energy. Finding the name more intimidating, he adopted the title as his new name, making it just one word in the process.

Once his power was consolidated, he begun to train the Sorbere to maximize their potential. Originally, the weak were cast aside in favor of the strong. However, Thelifeeater saw that where one lacked strength, their shortcomings can be covered if given the right tools. Working with several Intella who worked on weapons, he created weapons that allowed even the weakest to become formidable.

However, this new approach didn't settle well with the Sorbere Infinity, who supported the more anarchistic methods of the past. The strongest of them challenged Thelifeeater for his position, but to the Sorbere Infinity's shock, the strongest fighter was easily slain, showing definitive proof that Thelifeeater's methods were superior.

The new approach showed immediate results that the other subspecies couldn't ignore. To varying degrees, most adopted a similar method to what Thelifeeater did, effectively making the race more organized. And Thelifeeater has pride in what he did, and wants to reach new heights amongst his fellow Vanguards. This ambition was born from his instincts wanting to fight, sculpted by his training.

His ambition makes him more independent, and while he keeps himself in line usually, he refuses to let anything to hold him back. This puts him at odds with Kai at times, especially when she tells him to lie low, as he wants others to know of his actions.

Abilities:

Thelifeeater can absorb electricity and other kinds of energy like any other Sorbere. However, he doesn't rely on this ability or even his scythes and tail. His true power lies in his combat training and thoroughly disciplined mind. Throughout his training, he has learned about utilizing psychological warfare in battle and the results it yields. This compensates for his inferior strength.

While he still is inferior in physical strength compared to regular Sorbere, Thelifeeater was able to utilize his abilities that were not considered before. Such as using his scythes to incapacitate foes by using them like tasers, and his favorite method of tearing off a foe's head and biting into it repeatedly with his fangs for psychological attacks.

Stats.

Strength: 4

Speed: 3

Intelligence: 7

Endurance: 7

Combat Skill: 9

Weakness: heat and fire, inability to handle large amounts of electricity. Works independently.

Threat Level: 8

CCR

Blazorna: Well, really was on a roll with this chapter. Found myself staying up all night in the span of several occasions.

Now onto Best Thing Ever. This guy was originally just an immortality ability for another form I came up with, Sandshifter, but seeing that would make him overpowered, I decided to cut it off. At the same time, I wanted to make a form that would be a step up above The Worst, but would still be inferior to most of the other forms in many ways. Using the Atrocian as inspiration, and looking back on some drawings I did back in high school, the Chibisagi were formed. The vibration ability is just to give the form more use than The Worst. For those who are still struggling trying to imagine what a Chibisagi looks like, the design of these guys resembles Nintendo's Kirby in several ways.

Moving on, this chapter we got to see two new Caudatian subspecies and their Vanguards. With this, I hope I showed that even they have one collective desire, it appears in many ways. And it shows that they are not as organized as originally perceived. Just shows just how dangerous they are if they pose such a threat already, and that they could be so much more.

Also, we got to know some of the future members of Wild Card. I chose these people because either they have been associated with Harley Quinn in her ongoing solo comic, or they have potential to reform. I'm not having there be fifty-three members, as even that's too much for me. How do they join? Intend to be different from the comics to keep you all guessing.

Now, onto questions, HARLEY!

Harley: *Comes in wearing a red and black teddy bear suit.* I may be cute and cuddly, but this is going overboard… Fuzzy is going to blow you up at full blast this time.

Blazorna: Oh, come on!

Q:Dragon Rider 66: any weird chance you might do something like this in any of your stories? (Followed by URL Fragment)

Blazorna:No clue is all I can say. Posting links like that wouldn't work for reviews. If you tell me what it's titled, I'll look it up. *Fuzzy jumps onto face.*

Harley: AGH! I can't wear this anymore! *removes bear suit, wearing a Japanese school swimsuit underneath with her name on the chest*

Blazorna: Not my cup of tea, but someone might enjoy it…GAAAAHHH! *Gets blown up*

Harley:Okay perverts, enjoy this while you can. This is pretty humiliating. I mean a swimsuit like this isn't that attractive on me. Even if it's tight around the curves... Okay, I could see the appeal I think, but come on! Must be a Japanese you all next time.